MECH 215 Instrumentation and

Measurement
Week 4, Lecture 1
Temperature Measurement RTDs and
Thermistors

January 13, 2009 Page 1

 Temperature Measurement

Read section 8.1 in text for a good short history of the definition
of temperature and temperature measurement.
Temperature is based on the 0th law of thermodynamics two
systems that are at thermal equilibrium (no heat transfer
between systems) are at the same temperature.
Temperature scale provides:
1. Definition of the size of a degree
2. Reference points for establishing known temperatures.
3. A means of interpolating between known temperature points

January 13, 2009 Page 2

 Temperature Measurement

Fixed (known) Temperature Points.

Triple point (phase-transition point) of water (0C)
A workable scale for the measurement of
temperatures between the freezing point of water
and the boiling point would be 100 units
(degrees).
Therefore, boiling point of water (at 1 atm) (100C)

January 13, 2009 Page 3

 Temperature Measurement

How can we interpolate between

the known temperature points
of 0C and 100 C?
Is it as simple as dividing the
distance traveled by Mercury in
a tube into 100 equal units?

January 13, 2009 Page 4

 Temperature Measurement
Modern engineering definition of the temperature scale
is provided by a standard called the International
Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-1990).

January 13, 2009 Page 5

 Temperature Measurement

Standard interpolating equations are also provided

by ITS-1990. These are based on thermodynamic
definitions of absolute zero.
For most engineering applications, interpolation is
based on the variation in resistance with changing
temperature for a platinum wire.

January 13, 2009 Page 6

 Temperature Measurement

Liquid-in-glass Thermometer
Based on the thermal expansion of a liquid.

During calibration this type of

thermometer is subjected to
three types of measuring
environments.

January 13, 2009 Page 7

 Temperature Measurement

For accurate measurements,

the thermometer should be
immersed in the same
manner as during calibration.
Otherwise stem correction
needs to be applied.

January 13, 2009 Page 8

 Temperature Measurement

Bimetalic Thermometers
Based on differential thermal expansion of two
metals.

January 13, 2009 Page 9

 Temperature Measurement

The physical basis for the relationship between the

radius of curvature and temperature is given by,
d
rc
[(C )A (C )B ](T2 T1 )
rc = radius of curvature
C = material thermal expansion coefficient
T = temperature
d = thickness
January 13, 2009 Page 10
 Temperature Measurement

Electrical Resistance Thermometry

The electrical resistance of a conductor (or
semiconductor) varies with temperature.
Conductive RTDs (Resistance Temperature
Detectors)
Semiconductors - Thermistors

January 13, 2009 Page 11

 RTDs

RTDs may be formed from a solid metal wire which

exhibits an increase in electrical resistance with
temperature.
el
R=
Ac
R = electrical resistivity
l = length of conductor
Ac = cross-sectional area of conductor
e = temperature dependence of the resistivity of
the material
January 13, 2009 Page 12
 RTDs

Metal wire is mounted on an insulating support

structure to eliminate mechanical strain (which will
affect the conductors electrical resistance).
Construction must allow strain-free differential
expansion of components caused by changing
temperature.
The wire is encased to prevent influences from the
environment (corrosion).

January 13, 2009 Page 13

 RTDs

January 13, 2009 Page 14

January 13, 2009 Page 15
 RTDs

Electrical resistance of a metal conductor with

changing temperature can be represented with the
polynomial,

[
R = R0 1 + (T T0 ) + (T T1 ) + "
2
]
R0 = reference resistance measured at T0
, , etc. = material constants

January 13, 2009 Page 16

 RTDs

January 13, 2009 Page 17

 RTDs

If the temperature versus resistance relationship is

linear over a specific temperature range, then an
approximation of the relationship can be used.

R = R0 [1 + (T T0 )]
= material temperature coefficient of resistivity
(depends on material and purity)

January 13, 2009 Page 18

 RTDs

January 13, 2009 Page 19

 RTDs

Platinum is the most common RTD material.

Platinum has a predictable (linear over a wide range)
and reproducible (stable to within 0.005C)
electrical resistance to temperature relationship.
The final design (or choice) of RTD measuring device
depends on the acceptable level of uncertainty in
the final measurement.
Standard ohmmeters cause a small current to flow
during measurements.

January 13, 2009 Page 20

 RTDs

This current causes self heating of the RTD.

This loading error may cause a significant
temperature change in the sensor.
To minimize loading errors, bridge circuits are used
to measure the resistance of RTDs.
The Wheatstone bridge is the most common.

January 13, 2009 Page 21

 RTDs

See text page 201-205 for a detailed description.

January 13, 2009 Page 22

 RTDs

The Wheatstone bridge does not compensate for the

resistance of the leads (which is a major source of
error in RTDs).
For greater accuracy three-wire and four-wire bridge
circuits are used.

Lead wires 1, 2 and 3 have

resistances r1, r2, and r3

January 13, 2009 Page 23

 RTDs

R1 R3
At balanced conditions, =
R2 RRTD

With the lead wire resistances included,

R1 R3 + r1
=
R2 RRTD + r3

If R1=R2, then RRTD can be found as,

RRTD = R3 + r1 r3

January 13, 2009 Page 24

 RTDs

If r1=r3 the effect of these leads is eliminated.

r2 does not contribute to any error at balanced
conditions because no current flows through the
galvanometers, G.

January 13, 2009 Page 25

 RTDs

RRTD + r3 = R3 + r1 RRTD + r1 = R3 + r3
A four-wire bridge provides increased compensation
for lead-wire resistances.
January 13, 2009 Page 26
 RTDs

Combining the equations on the last slide yields,

R3 + R3
RRTD =
2

This eliminates the effect of lead resistances.

Note: Two measurements are required one for
each bridge configuration.

January 13, 2009 Page 27

 RTDs

Practical Considerations
Transient thermal response of typical commercial
RTDs is generally quite slow. Therefore, RTDs
should not be used for transient temperature
measurements.
Exception: Small diameter (10m) wires have high
transient response rates and low thermal
capacitance. They are used in non-corrosive
flowing gasses for hot wire anamometry or heat
flux measurements.

January 13, 2009 Page 28

 Thermistors

Thermistors (thermally sensitive resistors, typically a

ceramic-like substance) are semiconductor
devices that have a large decrease in resistance
as temperature increases.
The relationship between resistance and
temperature is generally of the form,
1 1

R = R0 e T T0

ranges from 3500 to 4600 depending on the

material, the construction and the temperature.
January 13, 2009 Page 29
 Thermistors

January 13, 2009 Page 30

 Thermistors
Note: Values of must be considered over significant
ranges of temperature if measurements are to be
accurate.
Thermistors provide high sensitivity, ruggedness and
fast response times.
The high resistance of thermistors (compared to
RTDs) eliminates the problems associated with
lead wire resistance compensation.
Thermistors are not generally interchangable as
there may be considerable differences in
resistance at room temperature.
January 13, 2009 Page 31
 Next Time

Thermocouples

January 13, 2009 Page 32